### Lesson Plan: Basic Science and Technology
**Topic:** Living Things and Non-Living Things (II)
**Grade Level:** Junior Secondary 1
**Duration:** 60 minutes
#### Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1. Differentiate between living and non-living things.
2. Identify characteristics that make something living or non-living.
3. Explain the basic needs of living things.
4. Classify items in their immediate environment into living and non-living categories.
#### Materials Needed:
- Whiteboard and markers
- Chart paper and markers
- Pictures or samples of both living and non-living things (e.g., plants, animals, rocks, books)
- Worksheet for classification
- Interactive slides or videos (if available)
#### Lesson Outline:
**Introduction (10 minutes)**
1. **Greeting and Warm-Up:** Start with a brief greeting and ask how everyone is feeling. Engage students in a quick brainstorming activity.
- Ask: "What did we learn about living and non-living things in our last lesson?"
- Encourage students to share their thoughts briefly.
2. **Review:** Recap the previous lesson by discussing the basic differences between living and non-living things.
- Use visual aids like pictures or objects to illustrate your points.
**Instructional Input (20 minutes)**
1. **Characteristics of Living Things:**
- Discuss in detail the characteristics that define living things, such as:
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Movement
- Respiration
- Nutrition
- Excretion
- Sensitivity
- Use visual aids and real-life examples to clarify each characteristic.
2. **Examples of Living Things:**
- Show pictures/samples of plants and animals.
- Discuss how each example exhibits the characteristics detailed above.
3. **Characteristics of Non-Living Things:**
- Explain that non-living things do not grow, reproduce, move voluntarily, respire, take in food, excrete, or respond to stimuli.
- Use examples like rocks, water, books, and gadgets to illustrate non-living things.
**Interactive Activity (15 minutes)**
1. **Group Activity:** Divide students into small groups and give each group a set of pictures/objects (mixed living and non-living things).
- **Task:** Each group will sort the pictures/objects into two categories: living and non-living.
- **Presentation:** Have each group present their sorted items and explain their choices to the class.
**Practice/Application (10 minutes)**
1. **Worksheet Activity:** Hand out a worksheet that contains various items. Students must classify each item as living or non-living and justify their classifications.
- Review the worksheet together, discussing any discrepancies and reinforcing the lesson content.
**Closure (5 minutes)**
1. **Summary:** Recap the main points of the lesson: the characteristics of living and non-living things and examples of each.
- Ask a few students to share one thing they learned today.
2. **Homework:** Assign a simple homework task where students have to list items in their home and classify them as living or non-living.
- Encourage students to write one characteristic of living things that each listed item demonstrates or does not demonstrate.
**Assessment:**
- Evaluate the students' understanding through their participation in the group activity and their responses on the worksheet.
- Monitor the quality and accuracy of their homework.
**Additional Notes:**
- Adjust the pace of the lesson based on the students’ understanding.
- Provide additional examples or reteach concepts if needed.
- Encourage questions and ensure that all students are engaged.